OOC| Facewing for her uneducatedness - you officially made me laugh. XD

BIC| She nodded, a sly kitsune grin spreading over her features - she had thought as much. She hadn't mentioned the ways of cubs often, if at all; the very mention would bring forth a well of pain to the little one's eye for the life she had been robbed of.

It was time, now, to learn these things.

List now, youngling, and for a time you'll know our kind as we once were.

And so she began, her eyes distant and glowing:

Know ye that a young is born of mother proud, with form she shares of mother's own. Upon the turning of the ninth celestial cycle does a second form appear, that which comes from the father. Thus on the twelfth they find other facets of themselves, forms that may be derived from that of parent or unique for their own selves. Now see that there is more to know - there are special Dens, sacred havens for the solitude of having a young one. If the form is that of one which hatches, such as a dragon's would be, it is still as birth would be otherwise - the eggs remain within until the hatching, rather than resting upon a nest, and until the time of the laying is still connected to replenish or repair any such needs as are had in the egg.

This Den is known as the Birthing Den, and there the young will stay and play in separate solitude for the first celstial cycle or two. Before being exposed to all that is Clan the little one must first have, in their own mind, a stability. They must know what is touch and scent and be capable of riding energy fluctuations before they're exposed to the extremes of Clan, although still they know the internal bonds that all such creatures share within the rest bound to Clan.

For these first cycles, all is given at the pace of the cub - they leave to explore the area around the opening to their Den, whatever sort would be needed for their corporeal beings, when and if they please. So they feed when they are hungry, and sleep when tired and play when so inclined as they become more anchored to their full selves.

... Essentially, they are becoming more as one with life than mere birthing can accomplish, that they don't disconnect from their physical at random and dissipate as would mist over water.

Now list, listen, shh and I will tell how this is of concern to you, though you learn merely for the sake of knowing our kind. It has come the time whence you would leave the Birthing Den; I do believe this is why you were so capable of survival while in Clan Disconnect. You were still of the need of a Birthing Den, and so you ate when you stumbled upon food and slept when you had need and slept where you thought comfortable. Usually such endeavors are lightened by the parents - both of them - but regardless, as you still were connecting into your true state of being you had not the sense of presence to attract trouble and were lucky enough not to stumble upon it; at least not without the ability to scent that there was a Wrongness and thus make a hasty retreat.

Now, when the transfer commenced it was usually to a family den within the communal center of the Clan. The fruits and bush grew in plenty for all cubs and younglings were encouraged to interact and learn what it is to be within Clan. In this, it was the family Den that the transfer was made to - and thus, as the family Den, it was already marked as belonging to the youngling as the cub was interwoven with the rest of the family. What is of the mother is also of the cub. In a smaller extent the same is said of all Clan - what is of my brother is also of me. Yet there is a difference - the ties are similar and not quite exact. It is perfectly well permitted that should I be in need, I find my brother in his haven and hole up there. Yet I will be doing so at his permission, and I will be ever a stranger to his home - an outsider, a trespasser, one who is in that which is not her own nor holds even a whiff of her own essence. It is his, forever his, and while I am welcome for being of a sort his own as well (as all Clan is) it is not the same as entering my own den with my own cub; for as the den is fully my own, so is the cub. It is an addition to my den, my space, the bringing of my young. Clan, though welcome, holds a bond not nearly so encompassing to be an addition to my home through that which is also my own.

Think of your Bonded. He and you are linked; but he nary belongs to you, nor you to him. Should he have a foal - which I believe he does - that foal will belong to him, just as much as the foal belongs to whomever they bind themselves to.

In such you are welcome in his home - but it is not your own.

For you, this is not a normal Den shift as you would be intruding as much as if you were in Sunspot's lands - these bonds of mother's Den are not in question. You are alone, as you know. The fate of your parents and Clan have been determined, and you felt such your own self. Thus, while you are brought into a proper Den and adopted as a proper cub to complete the bindings of Clan, you are also having that which is your own essence imbued into the Den. You will not be a visitor. You will be Home, with a true parent who you will, eventually, no longer even realize was not the one born to you. It involves spells, energy work and a great deal of preparation for both me and your new home-guardian. What you need to do is trust in us and, most importantly, relax enough to believe. Any disruptions to the energies of the spell can cause trouble - the least of which are having it fail, the more dire results being that it is altered in undesirable ways.

Normally, such would not be an issue - the cub would feel the bindings of Clan helping to hold them to their new lives, to keep them from dissipating, and would know intrinsically that Clan is that which is trusted, protected, and even obeyed without question. Should a Clan member tell you that something must be done, you will know with all certainty that it is so; for those of Clan could not speak in a way that is not true and proper to another with which they share a piece of their life essence. You, being disconnected, are somewhat of an anomaly. Thus it must be that you operate entirely on faith and not through any such known bindings.

Now listen, young cub, listen closely. Our Clan is broken, as well. There are few left; myself, my brother, my mate and own cubs. My aunt is disconnected; she has drifted too far and lost much of what is her essence. Another is so vastly weakened that she can't even control what abilities she has remaining, those that have yet to fade. You know of my parents, and of my brother's. His mother faded - you know much of his father. We are what remains of the White Light Clan, little one, and contact with other Clans is faint.

Any such things we keep of our kind - who we once were as a species - we keep this way. Now meditate for at ime and think on the ways of cubs; of anchoring to life in a Birthing Den before entering the proper Clan, of having dozens of others around to either search for or stumble upon while exploring your natural talents, to sit shoulder to shoulder with another as an Elder takes it upon themselves to provide a lesson - while still others scramble behind in a wild game of hunt! Think of what it is to be so bound that all are cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles; all are family. Of the shift that would be felt as someone mated with another outside the Clan and brought them in as their own, as a part of themselves.

Meditate on this, and then tell me what you have learned of the life of a youngling.

She was in a state of awe as her sister finished. Everything she said sounded so... perfect! She felt a familiar wave of sadness wash over her as she realized that she would never get to experience all those wonderful things her sister described. The sadness left almost as soon as it came as she remembered that she had a new Clan now and that she has a second chance. As long as she doesn't screw it up. She sat and contemplated a moment.

"Cubs spend their first cycles tying into the earth and moving at their own pace. They belong to their mother so that is who they live with. One of the main reasons I survived is I was still in the Birthing Den and tying into the earth myself when... it... happened. You always obey and trust Clan no matter what. Did I get everything?"

A tail twitch, a flick of a whisker, and she was roused from the light doze that had settled over her while the flufflebat meditated. She gave a tilt of her head, watching the mouthful of fluff thoughtfully.

No, she said, feeling her eyes flash bright for a moment, You didn't absorb a few things. The young don't belong to the mothers - both parents are there, both help. That much was said - think back.

Stretching, he gave herself to a yawn and flexed her paws, letting her claws scratch against a rock as her rump arched into the air. There, that was better

There's also the bonds of den, clan and those you belong to. Think more on these things, these ties - it is well passed time you made such a move yourself. Once you grok, the move will be made - and you will be fully adopted.

Moon Blaze looked down, ashamed that she had missed a bit. She tries so hard and when all that trying leads to failure.... Never mind that now, Songhue gave her a task. She settled down and meditated, trying to understand. [*]The members of clan are bonded together and will find each other each life at some point or other. Both parents help raise the cub that is a part of them. As soon as I am fully adopted I will become an addition to my parents' den and no longer an outsider. I will have a home, a place to belong. I will be one of them.[*]

Moon Blaze sighed as she came out of her meditation. She couldn't look up and see the disappointment in her sister's face, especially considering she took longer than was ideal to meditate. With tears starting to pool in her eyes she said barely above a whisper, I'm sorry sissy, but I don't grok.

She flicked the tips of her tail, the barest of movements. The cub was doing that cringing thing again, the one that made her itch to raise her hackles. But she was Kitsune for the moment, sly and secretive. The only thing to be seen was a noted indifference to the cub's distress.

Again.

Then she repeated herself- or at least the part of the lesson that had been overlooked. The cub would often catch the general meaning and still miss the core of the lesson itself - that was why she put so many words to use, weaving a great deal of sensationalism around the main point. That was what she understood the best, or at least it seemed that way. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't.

For you, this is not a normal Den shift as you would be intruding as much as if you were in Sunspot's lands - these bonds of mother's Den are not in question. You are alone, as you know. The fate of your parents and Clan have been determined, and you felt such your own self. Thus, while you are brought into a proper Den and adopted as a proper cub to complete the bindings of Clan, you are also having that which is your own essence imbued into the Den. Once that happens - once we bring your own essence into the new den in a way that would mimic the claim of your mother and father - you will not be a visitor. You will be Home, with a true parent who you will, eventually, no longer even realize was not the one born to you. It involves spells, energy work and a great deal of preparation for both me and your new home-guardian. What you need to do is trust in us and, most importantly, relax enough to believe. Any disruptions to the energies of the spell can cause trouble - the least of which are having it fail, the more dire results being that it is altered in undesirable ways.

Restating it helped to center her again. She was healer and mother herself - when a cub was distressed, her instincts were to protect, and when they shoved that distress out like a bomb it was to withdraw from the sensation and attack the source. She didn't sooth. Soothing had no place in protection.

But with this one, the source of her stress was more often than not the cub herself. As long as she pitied herself she would have this trouble. As long as she felt as if she could be kicked out, she would worry over it. The flufflebat needed a new identity - something other than viewing herself as a victim.

Luckily, she wasn't a warrior. Warrior's reacted even worse to weakness and victimization. They saw prey.

If any other had found this cub first, she might not have survived even this long.

Before you can be adopted and made a part of a den, you have to understand it. Once you do, I'll tell you what comes next. But it's one step at a time. First you prepare yourself. Then you proceed. And to keep you from jumping ahead in any way, I'm not telling you even so much as who you're going to be answering to as a parent until you're ready.

With a canine little huff she lowered her head back on her front paws - and waited again. She didn't feed the cub's fear, so she should be able to collect herself and try again in a moment. The best way to handle the young ones was often patience - and frequently a very great amount.

Moon Blaze thought it over in her head, trying to understand. She soon became lost in her tornado of thoughts, which is not unheard of for her. A particularly loud breath from her sister snapped her back to reality. She looked around, wondering how long she had been out of commission. A lot longer than was wanted she guessed. She quickly looked over her latest thoughts, trying to see if something clicked... nothing. She could have killed herself in that moment. If she was able to step out of her body and strangle herself she would have. Instead she hung her head and slumped her wings in defeat, and quickly muttered, "I got nothin'. I understand it but I don't get it. I don't grok," she concluded with a sigh.